This invention relates to a financial transaction processing system, using wireless mobile devices having an internal SIM or USIM to manage subscription accounts in conjunction with a communication system provider to enable the wireless mobile device to interact with an ordinary financial transaction network, typically used for commercial transactions with credit cards and debit cards.
The use of mobile wireless handset devices has heretofore been limited. Previous attempts to utilize the wireless communication capabilities of handset devices, such as wireless mobile phones for mobile commerce, has been restricted to portals in the telecommunications network and to portals in the world wide web that have been designed to cater to small, wireless mobile devices of limited capabilities. While adoption of wireless m-commerce platforms is expanding, the mobile wireless device is excluded from the real world marketplace because of legacy financial transaction processing equipment.
Directly using the communication capabilities of mobile phones and other wireless portable digital devices in the retail marketplace requires that the remote terminal at the retail establishment have wireless communication capabilities. Future remote terminals will likely incorporate wireless capabilities allowing direct communication between the wireless mobile device and the remote terminal. The system here devised not only enables the wireless mobile device to engage in financial transactions with entities having such wireless communication capabilities, but also with existing legacy systems, particularly credit and debit card terminals.